“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:7-9).

You and I reap the good and the bad in our lives. Good health does not just happen. Each one of us must do something to promote good health. If we are eating a lot of sweets and getting no exercise, we cannot expect our bodies to be healthy.

In the Bible there is a law of sowing and reaping. If we take good care of your body, we will in most cases reap health. This includes areas such as eating good food with a lot of fruit, vegetables and grains. It also includes such areas as emotional health by not holding bitterness and anger within our heart. These negative emotions will affect physical health.

We also can inherit bad health tendencies through our family lines. There is the possibility of ill health through our generational line. Carefully pray about this regarding anything in your family line. My family has a tendency toward heart and bone disease. Yours may be different. The following is one way of looking at the possibility of ill health in our body.

“Whenever unforgiven sins exist in our family lines, the legal necessity to reap remains in force.”

Exodus 34:6-7, Numbers 14:18, and Deuteronomy 5:9 are key verses regarding this. We wonder how this can be true. But God is fair, and there is a law of sowing and reaping. We must realize that forgiveness restores our relationships, but it does not do away with the need for discipline.

Jesus reaped the harm of all generational sin passed down from our forefathers (Ezekiel 18:2-5, 9). Only He is righteous, and it is only by His righteousness imputed to us (2 Corinthians 5:21) that we no longer have to reap the sin of our forefathers. God is good, and His Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). But even after we are saved, inherited evil does not end. Christians still reap in their own lives the evils their ancestors have committed.

Some sins must be prayed about specifically or else the sin continues through the generations.


How is Generational Sin Passed Down Through the Generations?

“The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation” (Numbers 14:18).

There are three ways generational sins pass down through the generations. They descend through physical genes, modeling others’ behavior, and by the law of sowing and reaping. Whatever is sown must be reaped. The devil knows what weaknesses we have inherited in our bodies. He will try to pass these on to us, causing us to reap bad health.

“The descending of generational sins by law is compounded by the fact that Satan understands the principle of sowing and reaping. He knows that not only will our children and their descendants reap the good we have sown; they will also reap the evil. He also knows our ignorance about law, that we think we can just do this or that ‘little’ sin and nothing will come of it! We do not realize there is no escape from consequences – except by grace.”

What unhealthy tendencies have you inherited from your parents and grandparents? What was modeled to you in negative behavior that you have easily adapted into your own life? Some examples are overeating, lack of exercise, eating junk food and the list goes on. What have you inherited and reaped in your physical genes? Some examples are heart disease, obesity, cancer, etc. What about your emotions? Do you easily get depressed, angry or bitter?

All of this will greatly affect our present and future health if we do not stop the law of sowing and reaping in our present generation.

“Innumerable harmful results may descend as a result of previous sin. Tendencies to cancer, allergies, lung problems or circulation disorders may descend from sins in previous generations. Tendencies to sexual perversion, homosexuality, frigidity, barrenness, tragic early deaths, a lack of boys or girls born into a family generation after generation – any of these can descend from ancestral sins. Additional harmful reaping includes depression, bipolarism, mental imbalance neuroses and psychoses, alcoholism and chemical addiction.” Unnamed quotes by John Sandford


How do we deal with all of this generational sin?

The following will help you to know how to deal with the generational sin in your past that was passed down either through modeling, physical genes or the law of sowing and reaping. It is important to realize that some sins come from our present sin and not from our past generations. This is taken from the book Healing the Nations by John Sandford.

• See the negative health patterns; inquire into your family tree.
• Look for repeated occurrences in grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.
• List them. Some examples could be heart disease, cancer, overeating, anger, etc.
• Pray, first giving thanks for all the good that has come from those forefathers.
• Pray, placing the cross, through prayer, between your forefathers and yourself or your family, declaring 
that all the destructive patterns inherited from the ancestors now stop on the cross of Christ.
• Name the patterns, believing that Jesus has died with them on the cross.
• Repent on behalf of those who have gone before and for yourself.
• Receive forgiveness.
• Pray blessing, declaring that the very opposite of the harmful generational pattern will now replace it. Give thanks.
• Reaffirm the prayer whenever you feel led, keeping at it for at least several weeks. Give thanks, believing it is done.

We can stop the negative, generational patterns and can begin to sow good patterns into the present and future generations. We will reap what we sow. It is time to sow good eating and living patterns into our lives. May God help each one of us to sow good seed, for we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. The following is a prayer renouncing the sins of our ancestors. You may want to pray this over you and your family.

“As a child of God purchased by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, I here and now renounce and repudiate all the sins of my ancestors. As one who has been delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of God’s dear son, I cancel out all demonic working that has been passed on to me from my ancestors. As one who has been crucified with Jesus Christ and raised to walk in newness of life, I cancel every curse that may have been put upon me. I announce to Satan and all his forces that Christ became a curse for me when he hung on the cross. As one who has been crucified and raised with Christ and now sits with Him in heavenly places, I renounce any and every way in which Satan may claim ownership of me. I declare myself to be eternally and completely signed over and committed to the Lord Jesus Christ. I renounce (list the curses in your family background) and I receive (list the blessings). All this I do in the Name and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ.” From The Adversary by Mark Bubeck



By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC